Pressing machine



INVEOK 2 Sheets-Sheet l H. D. FORSE PREssING MACHINE Filed Dec'. 22, 1959 v Nov. 3, 1942.

4?, .0 f. i L my@ H Nov. 3, 1942. H. D. FoRsE 2,390,541

PRESSING MACHINE Filed Dec. 22.41939 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR /PHKRKZZFa/vsa j VMM@ Patented Nov. 3, 1942 UNITED STATES OFFICE 12 Claims.

This invention relates to a hand operated garment steaming press.

The chief object of this invention is to improve the operation of a press of the aforesaid character such a press being of the general character illustrated in the copending prior application, entitled, Pressing machine, Serial No. 219,546, filed July 16, 1938, and insofar as the present invention is concerned, whatever is disclosed in said application and is common to the copending application, is specifically disclaimed herefrom.

One feature of the invention consists in providing means which are automatically operable in the movement of the head toward the buck when positioned in close proximity thereto for applying steam to the garment on the buck for the steaming of the garment.

Another chief feature of the invention consists in providing means for automatically locking the head in the buck engaging position, which engagement is maintained automatically for a predetermined interval for pressing purposes, and the like, and then the engagement is automatically disassociated.

A further chief feature of the invention consists in the provision of means for manually controlling the steam application to the head, if, as and when desired.

Still a further feature of the invention consists in means for manually controlling the locking arrangement so that the head may be disassociated from the buck whenever desired.

Another feature of the invention is in the provision of dual and dissimilar manual control means for moving the head into buck engagement and one of which includes a portion which is movable from a relatively exposed position into a relatively unexposed position for clearance purposes, as hereinafter pointed out.

Other objects and features of the invention will be set forth more fully hereinafter.

The full nature of the invention will be understood from the accompanying drawings and the following .description and claims:

In the drawings,

Fig. 1 is a side elevational view of a garment press embodying the invention.

Fig. 2 is a top plan view thereof.

Fig. 3 is a side elevationalview of the automatic and manual steaming control for the head structure.

Fig. 4 is a view showing the latter mechanism as Well as the lock and release mechanism for locking the head.

Fig. 5 is a view showing the locking mechanism lin releasing position.

In the drawings lil indicates a conventional press structure provided with a pedestalv II and extending upwardly therefrom and rearwardly is an arm arrangement I2. Extending also upwardly and forwardly of said arm structure is a neck arrangement I3 which suitably supports a relatively stationary buck I4. Associated with the aforesaid, is an apron structure I5. All of the aforesaid is of conventional character.

Operatively associated with the buck structure is a head structure I5, the latter being suitably supported and carried by an arm arrangement II pivotally. mounted at I8 near the upper end of the upwardly and rearwardly directed arm portion I2. with said lever arrangement I1, as indicated at I9. A steam supply line 20 is adapted to supply steam to the head structure I6, the latter being of steam applying type. The steam supply to said head includes a valve arrangement, indicated generally by the numeral 2| in` Fig. 2 and shown more particularly in Figs. 3 and 4.

Pivotally supported atvthe upper end of the arm portion I2 is a lever arrangement 22, the same being pivotally mounted as at 23 and including a rearwardly directed portion 24. The forward end vof said lever arrangement 22 is bifurcated and is connected by means of a handle portion 25. A `bar portion 25a, see Fig.

2, also connects the bifurcated arm arr-angements some distance rearwardly of the handle and rearwardly of said bar member 25a is another connecting portion 2517, see Fig. 2.

Interposed between the base Ill and the end 24 of the lever arrangement 22 is a spring 26.

A link arrangement 21 is connected at one end to the lever 22 and at the opposite end to a supplementary struc-ture 28 as at 29. Interposed between the head supporting lever I'I and the auxiliary structure 28 is a spring 30 and the force and effect of the same is controlled `by the rod 3l having the rearwardly and upwardly exposed hand wheel 32 at its upper end and the wing nut 33 for adjustment locking purposes.

The aforesaid description describes ina general way the type of press which is the subject matter of the previous and copending application. The wing nut 33 adjusts the tension of spring 3U between members 28 and I1. The hand-wheel 32 adjusts the relative position between members 28 and 22. When the end 24 of member 22 is elevated manually-against its constraint, the head I6 is lowered into contact with The head is adjustably associated 'by the numeral 54.

Astitutes part of -the valve control. previously set forth, is indicated by the numeral the buck. The handle 25 when grasped may assist in this movement and may be held down as long as desired. A lock holds the head down, if not manually held, until a predetermined interval has elapsed and then is released which in turn releases lever 22 to its constraint to automatically elevate the head from the buck to complete the pressing cycle.

Pivotally supported as at 34 is a lever structure 35 and the rearward end thereof is connected by a rod 36 to the free end 24, as it were, of the lever arrangement 22. The opposite end of the lever 35 is forked or bifurcated as indicated at 31, and connecting the bifurcations is a shaft 38. Slidably and pivotally mounted on said shaft is a lever extension 3S having the offset foot engageable portion 40.

Projecting into the kerf or slot between the portions 31 and from one of the portions, is a pin 4|. The portion of extension 39 associated with the shaft 38 includes a plurality of openings 42, each of which is adapted-to receive the pin 4|. As shown in Figs 1 andy 2, the treadle portion 4D of the lever structure is positioned with reference to the main portion thereof, so that the treadle is exposed for foot engagement. Whenever foot 'operation is not desired,` the Ytreadle portion 39-40 may be elevated or slid upwardly on the shaft 38 so as to free the pin from the then associated recess 42, and when freed therefrom,

the treadle portion of said lever may be swung from the fullline position, as shown in Fig. 2 in vthe direction of the arrows, until the pin 4| registers with the desired opening 42. Upon release from the elevated position, the treadle portion of the lever willbe'locked in the non-interfering orv clearing position. This leaves the press arranged so that it is only hand operatedthrough the lever structure 22. If the treadle is posi- Vtioned as shown in Figs. 1 and 2, the head may be either hand operated or foot operated.

, Extending across thetwo arm portions of the ',bifurcated lever arrangement 22, is a shaft 50 and mounted thereon are two coil springs and |5|, each having their adjacent ends bearing on `the collar portion 52 carried by a shaft. The remote ends are respectively associated with some- .'what similar but complementaryv lever arrange- Herein, see Fig. 2, `the upper or right hand lever 'arrangement is designated by the numerall 53 'and the lower or left hand lever arrangement Each includes a rubber bumper member 55 which is ,adapted to engage the cross portion 25a, see Fig. l. Each lever con- 4struction includes an inwardly directed finger' engageable portion, for example, lever 53 includes the finger engageable portion 56, while lever 54 includes a finger engageable portion 51,

`and these, as shown in Fig.2, are directed toward each other andare positioned in close proximity to the handle portion 25 of the lever arrangement ,22.

Lever 53-see Fig. 'of-is of bellcrank type and 'includes the arm portion 58 mounting a roller 59, see Figs, 2, 3 and 4. This roller 59 is adapted to engage an abutment 6,0 carried by a slidable Therod 6| has an angular end portion notch 64 adapted to seat a pinr 55 that con- The valve, as

2|; 'The rod 6|` has its opposite end guided, as

"indicated, see Fig. 3, as at 65 in the cross member |1a and constrained in the desired direction, if desired.

It will be apparent that depressing portion of the lever 53 will cause the roller 59 to engage the abutment which is adjustably supported as at 60a on the member or rod 6| and this causes the lever 62 to move clockwise, opening the valve 2| to supply steam to the head structure.

This arrangement also is adapted for automatic actuation in that when the lever 22 is moved down toward the buck, it carries with it the head supporting structure |1 and by reason of the position of the respective parts, the roller 59 will engage the abutment 60 and automatic application of steam to the head structure is obtained.

Oscillation of the manually operable hand lever means 22 toward and away from the buck when the head is in the vicinity of or in close proximity to the buck, therefore, insures intermittent application of steam to the head for garment steaming prior to garment pressing.

Reference now will be had more particularly to Figs. 1, 2, 4 and 5, relative to the other lever arrangement carried by the manually operable main lever arrangement 22. The lever 54V pivotally supported on the` shaft 5D, as previously described, includes alateral extensionI 1-see Fig. 4. This extension is of sufficient length and is directed opposite to the direction of the finger engageable portion 51 so as to be juxtapositioned relative to the rod 1|. The latter is slidably supported in b-racket 12, see Figs. 1 and 2, and includes angular end portion 13 which is receivable by an openingl 14 in an arm l5- see Fig. l-of a timing mechanism such as of door check character, the latter being indicated by the numeral 16. A stop pin 11 is provided to limitthe counterclockwise movement of the arm 15-see Fig. 1.

The depending portion 54a of the lever 54 includes a recess 18 and a shoulder 15. The lever structure |1 mounts a bracket 80 and this bracket carries a pin and roller arrangement 8|-see Fig. 4-more especially and said roller is adapted to bear on the shoulder 19. It will be observed that the end of the portion 54 as indicated at 54h adjacent the shoulder 18 is curved. The reason for that is that as the arm portion 22 is brought down carrying with it the lever portion I1, the face 54h engages the roller structure 8| and the lever 54 is tilted clockwise-see Fig. 1 until this latter lever clears the pin and then the pin seats in the recessed portion 18 and bears on the shoulder 19. 'I'his constitutes the lock for holding the two main lever arrangements together which automatically holds the head'struc'- ture and locks thelhead structure in the buck engaging position.

It will be apparentthat when the lateral finger engageable portion 51 is engaged by the operator through nger touch movement, or the like, this lever latch is released and the head structure as well 'as the manually operable lever structure 22 together with the lever structure |1 is released to the constraint imposed by the spring 2G. Thus the operator has control of the press at all times.

Whenever automatic control is desired, it will be quite apparent that in the downward movement of the lever 22 toward the buck carrying -with it lever'structure l1 and thel head, the lock mechanism indicated by the numeral 16 becomes eiective because in its operation the arm 15 moves from the full line position shown in Fig. l to the dotted line position where it is stopped by the pin ll. In this movement, which is automatic due to air release or air bleed to the check mechanism, the rod 'll is moved toward the leftsee Figs. l and Z-and in so doing the upwardly extending portion 90 of said rod 1|, see Fig. 5, engages the lateral portion 'l0 of the lever '54 and tilts the lever clockwise `just as if the operator had depressed the lock lever 54 by engaging the lateral portion 5l. Therefore, the lock latch is automatically -released and at the end Aof the predetermined time `interval determinable by the adjustments to which the door check mechanism, generally indicated by the number 16, has Vbeen subjected. Thus, lock release may be automatically eiected and in this respect this type of control is similar to the automatic or manual types of control for steam supply to the head structure. When release is effected, arm 22 moves upwardly and this carries member 54a upwardly but more especially to the right, see Fig. 5, which returns arm 'l5 to the full line position, see Fig. l, from the dotted line (release) position. The only time l0 leaves 9H is when '54 is manually actuated for manual release.

While the invention has been illustrated and described in great detail in the drawings and foregoing description, the same is to be considered as illustrative and not restrictive in character.

The several modinoations described herein as well as others which will readily suggest themselves to persons skilled in this art, all are considered to be within the broad scope of the invention, reference being had to the appended claims.

The invention claimed is:

1.111 a pressing machine having a buck, a head movable toward and away from the same, and hand lever means for manually moving the head in opposition to a constraint normally constraining the head to a position remote from the buck, the combination of an articulated treadle structure for moving the head in the same manner as the hand lever means, said treadle structure being pivoted for treadle operation of the head, said treadle having a foot engageable portion at one end, and hinge means interposed between the foot engageable portion and the treadle pivot permitting extended positioning of the foot engageable portion for foot actuation of the head or angular positioning of the portion for operator clearance purpose about `the machine during hand operation thereof.

2. In a manually operable press including a buck, a head, means supporting said head adjacent the buck for movement toward and away yfrom the 'buck and normally constrained toward the latter position and manually operable lever means for manually movi-ng the 'head toward the buck in opposition to the constraint, the head being of garment steaming character, the combnationof a steam supply to the head, valve means controlling said steam supply to the head, means automatically operable in and by the movement of the head and lever means and operable prior to head and buck engagement, for Valve means operation for steam supply to the head immediately prior to head and buck engagement, .and other means associated with ,the automatically operable means for maintaining the valve means open Vfor steam supply during at least the initial portion of such engagement.

`3. In a manually operable press including a buck, a head, means supporting said head adja- -cent the buck for movement toward and away from the buck and normally constrained toward the latter position, and manually operable lever means for manually moving the head toward .the buck in opposition to the constraint, the head being of garment steaming character, the combination of a steam supply to the head, valve meanscontrolling said steam supply to the head, means automatically operable in and by the movement of the head and lever means and onlir immediately prior to head and buck engagement, for valve means operation for steam sup- Vply to the head immediately prior to head and buck engagement, and other means associated with the automatically'operable means for maintaining the Valve means vopen for steam supply during at least the initial portion of such engagement, slight oscillation of the head immediately prior to the `buck engaging position of the head providing intermittent steaming of the garment on the buck.

vel. In a manually operable press including a buck, a head, means supporting said head adjacent the buck Vfor movement toward and away from the buck and normally constrained toward the latter position, and manually operable lever means for moving the head toward the buck in opposition to the constraint, the combination of manually releasalole latch means for holding the vhead in buck engaging position, the manual engageable portion of the latch means being juxtapositioned relative -to .the manual engageable portion -of the vlever means, and time controlled means having operative -association with said4 latch means for .releasingsame following .expiration of a predetermined period, said time controlled means including mechanism operable in the movement of the ,head from the buck to restore said `means to initial position ready for control, said mechanism .being mechanically operable upon headengagement with the buck to initiate time control. of the latch means.

v5. In ka manually operable press including a '.buck, a head, means supporting said head adjacent the buck for movement toward and away from the buck and normally constrained toward the latter position, and manually operable lever means Yfor manually moving the head toward the buck in opposition .to the constraint, the combination of manually releasable latch means for holding the head in buck engaging position, `the manual engageable portion of the latch means being juxtapositioned relative to the .manual engageab-le portion 4of .the lever means, time controlled means for automatically releas- .ing said latch means `and .automatically restored t0 initial vposition in lthe movement of `the head :from the buck, the head being of garment steaming character, valve means controlling steam supply to the head, means automatically operable in the movement of the head and lever means ,immediately prior to head and buck engagement for valve means operation for steam supply to the head immediately prior to head and buck engagement, and other means associated with the automatically operable means for maintaining the valve means open for steam supply during at least the initial kportion of such engagement.

6,. In a manually operable press including a buck, a head, means supporting said head adfjacent the buck for movement toward and away from the buck and normally constrained toward the vlatter position, land manually operable lever means for manually moving the head toward the buck in opposition to the constraint, the combination of latch means for holding the head in Abuck engaging position, time controlled means for automatically releasing said latch means and automatically restored to initial positionin the movement of the head from the buck, the head being of garment steaming character, valve means controlling steam supply to the head, means automatically operable in the movement of the head and lever means immediately prior to head and buck engagement for valve means operation for steam supply to the head immediately prior to head and buck engagement, and other means associated with the automatically operable means for maintaining the valve means open for steam supply during at least the initial' portion of such engagement,

7. In a manually operable press including a buck, a head, means supporting said head adjacent the buck for movement toward and away from the buck and normally constrained toward the latter position, and manually operable lever means for manually moving the head toward the buck in opposition to the constraint, the

. combination of manually releasable latch means for holding the head in buck engaging position,

the manual engageable portion thereby being and other means associated with the automat- Y ically operable means for maintaining the valve means open for steam supply during at least the initial portion of such engagement, oscillation movement of the head immediately prior to buck engagement providing intermittent steaming of lthe garment on the buck.

8. In a manually operable press including a buck, a head, means supporting said head adja- 'cent the buck for movement toward and away from the buck and normally constrained toward the latter position, and manually operable lever means for manually moving the head toward the buck yin opposition to the constraint, the combination of latch means for holding the head in buck engaging position, time controlled means `for automatically releasing said latch means and automatically restored to initial position in the movement of the head from the buck, the head being of garment steaming character, valve means controlling steam supply to the head, means automatically operable in the movement of the head and lever means immediately prior to head 'and buck engagement for valve means operation for steam supply to the head immediately prior to head and buck engagement, and other means associated with the automatically operable means for maintaining the valve means open for steam supply during at least the initial portionof such engagement, oscillation movement of the head immediately prior to buck engagement providing intermittent steaming of the garvment on the buck.

v9. In a manually operable press including a buck, a head, means supporting said head adjacent the buck for movement toward and away from the buck and normally constrained toward the latter position, and manually operable lever means for manually moving the head toward the buck inopposition to the constraint, the combination of manually releasable latch means for holding the head in buck engaging position, the manual engageable portion thereby being juxtapositioned relative to the manual engageable portion of the lever means, time controlled means for automatically releasing said latch means and automatically restored to initial position in the movement of the head from the buck, the head being of garment steaming character, valve means controlling steam supply to the head, means automatically operable in the movement of the head and lever means immediately prior to head and buck engagement for valve means operation for steam supply to the head immediately prior to head and buck engagement, and other means associated with the automatically operable means for maintaining the valve means open for steam supply during at least the initial portion of such engagement, and manually operable means juxtapositioned relative to the Vmanually engageable portion of the lever means for independent manual control of the steam supply to the head.

10. In a manually operable press including a buck, a head, means supporting said head adjacent the buck for movement toward and away from the buck and normally constrained toward vthe latter position, and manually operable lever means for manually moving the head toward the buck in opposition to the constraint, the combination of latch means for holding the head in buck engaging position, time controlled means for automatically releasing said latch means and automatically restored to initial position in the movement of the head from the buck, the head being of garment steaming character, valve means controlling steam supply to the head, means automatically operable in the movement of the head and lever means immediately prior to head and buck engagement for valve means operation for steam supply to the head immediately prior to head and buck engagement, and othez` means associated with the automatically operable means for maintaining the valve means open for steam supply during at least the initial portion of such engagement, and manually op erable means juxtapositioned relative to the manually engageable portion of the lever means for independent manual control of the steam supply to the head.

ll. In a manually operable press including a buck, a head', means supporting said head adjacent the buck for movement toward and away from the buck and normally constrained toward the latter position, yand manually operable lever means for manually moving the head toward the buck in opposition to the constraint, the combination of latch means for holding the head in buck engaging position time controlled means for automatically releasing said latch means and automatically restored to initial position in the movement of the head from the buck. the manually operable lever means being of dual character and including a hand operable lever and a foot operable treadle lever, and hand operable latch release means, the hand engageable portions of the latch release and lever means being juxtapositioned relative to each other.

12. In a manually operable press including a buck, a head, means supporting said head adjacent the buck for movement toward and away from the buck and normally constrained toward the latter position, and manually operable lever means for moving the head toward the buck in opposition to the constraint, the combination of latch means for holding the head in buck engaging position, time controlled means for automatically releasing said latch meansand automatically restored to initial position in the movement of the head from the buck, the manually operable lever means being of dual character and including a hand operable lever and a foot operable treadle lever, hand operable latch release means, the hand engageable portions of the latch release and lever means being juxtapositioned relative to each other, the head being of garment steaming character, valve means controlling steam supply to the head, means automatically operable in the movement of the head and lever means immediately prior to head and buck engagement for valvemeans operation for steam supply tothe head immediately prior to head and buck engagement, and other means associated with the lautomatically operable means for maintaining the valve means open for steam supply during at least the initial portion of such engagement, and manually operable means juxtapositioned relative to the manually engageable portion of the lever means for independent manual control of the steam supply to the head, the handjengageable portions of the manual latch releasel means and the manual valve control means being positioned side by side and immediately adjacent the hand engageable portion of the lever means.

HARRY D. FORSE. 

